Ryan Vail's 2:13 Leads American Men in New York

Hall's absence, Meb's injuries leave no Americans in the top ten.

The Portland based runner finished 13th overall and was the first american finisher.

The ageless former champion chasing one more podium; the golden-haired speedster looking for redemption after a string of injuries; the rising star logging 150-mile training weeks; the serial marathoner bouncing back from a grueling run at the World Championships less than three months ago – there was no shortage of fresh storylines among the American men leading up to this year's New York City Marathon.

The story at the finish line, however, was a throwback: for the first time in a decade, no American man placed in the top 10 (not including the 2007 race, which was held one day after that year's U.S. Olympic Trials). The top American was Ryan Vail, the 27-year-old rising star from Portland, Oregon, who finished 13th overall in 2:13:23 – nearly five minutes behind Geoffrey Mutai's winning time of 2:08:24.

"Based on my training, I thought I was going to finish a little stronger on this course," said Vail, a high-mileage runner whose training feats (as posted on his online training log) generated buzz leading up to the race. "But considering the American field, I'm definitely honored to be the first American."

Next across the line was Jeff Eggleston in 2:16:35, with Christian Thompson third in 2:22:48. Olympic silver medalist and 2009 New York champion Meb Keflezighi struggled home in 2:23:47 after being forced to stop for several minutes at the 19-mile mark; Boston fourth-placer Jason Hartmann dropped out at around the same spot; injury-plagued Ryan Hall didn't even make it to the start line.

It was Keflezighi who put American men back in contention in New York with his second-place finish in 2004, ending a nine-year streak in which no Americans cracked the top ten. Since then, he's added four more top-ten finishes in New York and, along with Olympic teammates Ryan Hall and Dathan Ritzenhein, led a resurgence in American marathoning.

This year, though, the 38-year-old faced a string of problems in his build-up, including a torn calf muscle and a serious fall that gashed his knee and severely curtailed his training. "I started the race because it's New York. If it was any other race, I wouldn't have," he said after finishing, citing those affected by last year's hurricane and the Boston bombings as inspiration. "I'm still able to run, and some people aren't able to do that."

The injuries that hobbled Keflezighi and Hall are occupational hazards in the marathon business, but their absence in the lead pack highlighted the gap between them and the next generation of contenders. Along with Eggleston, who finished 13th at the World Championships in Moscow in August, Vail was the leading contender to vault into the elite echelon of American marathoners. The windy conditions and fueling problems – he missed all but two of his seven personal drink bottles – eliminated any chance of improving his best of 2:11:45, set last year in his second marathon. Still, the race underscored the distance he has yet to travel.

"I still have a lot to learn when it comes to racing and training," he admitted. "I'd like to try to get on maybe a faster course in the spring and see what I can do time-wise. But I'd also like to come back to New York and learn how to race better."